As COVID-19 Numbers Improve, Stamford Officials Urge Vigilance

STAMFORD, CT — After a major surge in COVID-19 cases through the holidays, numbers appear to be improving in Stamford. But officials are urging residents to remain vigilant.

Mayor Caroline Simmons held her biweekly COVID-19 briefing on Tuesday, and said she's optimistic about where the city is heading.

According Stamdord's COVID-19 dashboard, Stamford's seven-day COVID-19 positivity rate has dropped from a high of 39.15 percent on Jan. 10 to 27 percent on Jan. 17.

Cases per 100,000 residents have also decreased from a high of 334.3 on Jan. 10, to 119.8 a week later.

"We're seeing a slight decline, but we still want to remind everyone to be vigilant," Simmons said. She thanked residents for wearing their masks and getting vaccinated.

"We're hoping to continue to see a decline into February so we can try to get back to normal as soon as possible," Simmons added.

At Stamford Hospital as of Jan. 18, there were 59 people hospitalized with COVID-19, down from 76 reported on Jan. 4.

Fifty percent of those currently in the hospital are unvaccinated, and the majority requiring Intensive Care Unit care are also unvaccinated, according to Dr. Asha Shah, head of infectious disease at Stamford Health.

Shah said the highly contagious omicron variant now accounts for 99.5 percent of new cases diagnosed in the country, and as of last week, 97.4 percent of strains circulating in Connecticut are omicron.

"While we've seen a tremendous rise in COVID over the past several weeks, there is some evidence here that the numbers are going down in the Northeast compared to the rest of the country. That may be a sign of better things to come," Shah said.

At-home COVID-19 tests figure to play a significant role in the fight against the pandemic going forward. This week, Americans can begin to order tests from the federal government. Four tests per home address will be mailed out in the coming days to those who place orders.

Shah said if you test positive on an at-home test there is no need to confirm with a PCR test. She noted that Stamford Health's medical group offices have received phone calls from residents looking to confirm their at-home results.

"If you have symptoms of COVID and your home test kit is positive, you are very likely to have COVID and there's no need to get a PCR to follow that up," Shah said.

Shah also spoke about the recent updates from the CDC on masking. Those updates can be found here.

Dr. Henry Yoon, Stamford's medical advisor, urged residents to get vaccinated and boosted as soon as possible.

"Please stay up to date with your COVID vaccines to protect yourself, to protect others and to prevent the spread, so hopefully we can get this pandemic under control and a thing of the past," Yoon said.

For more information on COVID-19 testing and vaccination sites in Stamford, go to the city's website.